can extend the emergence life up to 6–8 weeks, a controlled release. The first
system is used when the pest is already present. The second provides a nucleus of
predators ready to meet the first invaders. Then, packaging is made á la carte
according to the target crop, the growing area and the period of the year. Recently,
promising control of thrips on peach and nectarines orchards have been stated
using improved sachets systems which can release up to 8,000 individuals of
A. andersoni (Chant) per sachet (Vila et al. 2013).
Several artificial diets have been developed and tested to rear predatory mites
but no commercial uptake as been fully accomplished due to very low fecundities
of females when feeding with the alternative food (McMurtry and Scriven 1966;
Kennett and Hamai 1980; Itagaki and Koyama 1986; Ochieng et al. 1987; Shih
et al. 1993). Several promising achievements have been described, but also not
used so far in a broad scale, adding to the crops complementary diets, in order to
favor the establishment of the predators, using in some cases artificial diets (Ogawa
and Osakabe 2008) but most commonly with pollen. The last can be offered using
banker plants (Ramakers and Voet 1996; Messelink et al. 2005; Vantornhout et al.
2005; Nguyen and Shih 2010; Al-Shammery 2011; Huang et al. 2011), by introducing plastic cups with pollen sources (Nomikou et al. 2010) or by spraying or
dusting pollen (Weintraub et al. 2009; Kasap 2005; González-Fernández et al.
2009; Nomikou et al. 2010; Gerson and Weintraub 2012). Decapsulated brine
shrimps of Artemia sp. have also been stated as a potential food to be used in the
mass rearing production of A. swirskii according to the performance of this predatory mite when feeding this food during six generations compared to other
alternatives such as Ephestia eggs or artificial diets (Tung et al. 2013). Adding this
Artemia cysts to ornamental greenhouse plants can significantly reduce the needed
introductions of A. swirskii in order to control broad mites (Audenaert et al. 2013).
4.5 Predatory Bugs
After the mites the bugs are the largest productions of predators released in
augmentative biocontrol programs in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. Bugs
are interesting in protected cropping systems, because the zoo-phytophagy of some
Mirids is favorable to a good survival of the insects in early season even in the
absence of prey. Particularly in Almeria, the species N. tenuis has been the
responsible of the adoption of biological programs in tomatoes, not only in almost
100 % of the protected crops but also in open fields. Sales in this area is estimated
to reach 100,000 bottles of 1,000 individuals per year by the end of 2013. The
successfully developed programs using this predatory bug are currently exported
to other Mediterranean areas, like Middle East and North Africa.
Several improvements have been achieved by the manufacturers regarding the
mass rearing of not only N. tenuis but also another largely produced mirid bug, as
well as the anthocorid O. laevigatus, which are the main released bug species in
the protected vegetables in Europe. Due to the secrecy of the productions systems
4 Biosystems Engineering Applied to Greenhouse Pest Control
119
system is used when the pest is already present. The second provides a nucleus of
predators ready to meet the first invaders. Then, packaging is made á la carte
according to the target crop, the growing area and the period of the year. Recently,
promising control of thrips on peach and nectarines orchards have been stated
using improved sachets systems which can release up to 8,000 individuals of
A. andersoni (Chant) per sachet (Vila et al. 2013).
Several artificial diets have been developed and tested to rear predatory mites
but no commercial uptake as been fully accomplished due to very low fecundities
of females when feeding with the alternative food (McMurtry and Scriven 1966;
Kennett and Hamai 1980; Itagaki and Koyama 1986; Ochieng et al. 1987; Shih
et al. 1993). Several promising achievements have been described, but also not
used so far in a broad scale, adding to the crops complementary diets, in order to
favor the establishment of the predators, using in some cases artificial diets (Ogawa
and Osakabe 2008) but most commonly with pollen. The last can be offered using
banker plants (Ramakers and Voet 1996; Messelink et al. 2005; Vantornhout et al.
2005; Nguyen and Shih 2010; Al-Shammery 2011; Huang et al. 2011), by introducing plastic cups with pollen sources (Nomikou et al. 2010) or by spraying or
dusting pollen (Weintraub et al. 2009; Kasap 2005; González-Fernández et al.
2009; Nomikou et al. 2010; Gerson and Weintraub 2012). Decapsulated brine
shrimps of Artemia sp. have also been stated as a potential food to be used in the
mass rearing production of A. swirskii according to the performance of this predatory mite when feeding this food during six generations compared to other
alternatives such as Ephestia eggs or artificial diets (Tung et al. 2013). Adding this
Artemia cysts to ornamental greenhouse plants can significantly reduce the needed
introductions of A. swirskii in order to control broad mites (Audenaert et al. 2013).
4.5 Predatory Bugs
After the mites the bugs are the largest productions of predators released in
augmentative biocontrol programs in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. Bugs
are interesting in protected cropping systems, because the zoo-phytophagy of some
Mirids is favorable to a good survival of the insects in early season even in the
absence of prey. Particularly in Almeria, the species N. tenuis has been the
responsible of the adoption of biological programs in tomatoes, not only in almost
100 % of the protected crops but also in open fields. Sales in this area is estimated
to reach 100,000 bottles of 1,000 individuals per year by the end of 2013. The
successfully developed programs using this predatory bug are currently exported
to other Mediterranean areas, like Middle East and North Africa.
Several improvements have been achieved by the manufacturers regarding the
mass rearing of not only N. tenuis but also another largely produced mirid bug, as
well as the anthocorid O. laevigatus, which are the main released bug species in
the protected vegetables in Europe. Due to the secrecy of the productions systems
4 Biosystems Engineering Applied to Greenhouse Pest Control
119